Illinois Football: Evaluating the class of 2018 through 6/10

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A view of the Big Ten logo on an end zone pylon prior to the game of the Penn State Nittany Lions against the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A view of the Big Ten logo on an end zone pylon prior to the game of the Penn State Nittany Lions against the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

The class of 2018 has been a struggle for the Illinois football team.

Illinois’ current recruiting class consists of three players. Those three players are Coran Taylor, Julian Pearl and Antwain Walker. All three of these players will have a role on the team in a year or two, but where does this class rank among the Big Ten?

Well, right now the Illini rank No. 13 in the Big Ten. They are second to last with the only team trailing them being the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. There are two factors in why the Illini are that low in the rankings.

The first factor is the star ratings. Illinois only has two three-star recruits and one two-star recruit so far in the process. While these three players are likely to be solid contributors, they aren’t the quality of player that will elevate the recruiting class to one of the best in the Big Ten.

The other factor for why the Illini are low in the Big Ten recruiting class rankings is because the quantity of players they have snagged. They only have three recruits right now signed up for 2018 and the two leaders, Ohio State and Penn State, both have 12 commitments apiece.

But, just because Illinois is low in the rankings doesn’t mean they are down for the count. There are still a lot of players available to sign, and it is a matter of Lovie Smith and his coaching staff trying to convince the recruits Champaign is the place to be.

Illinois has a multitude of players who have them in their top lists. Ronnie Perkins has the Illini in his top 12, Kievan Myers has them in his top 15, TJ Ivy has them in his top four, Trevor Trout has them in his top 15, Dallas Craddieth has them in his top 12 and Brian Johnson has them in his top seven.

The Illini have a shot at all of these players because they haven’t eliminated the program yet. That means Lovie still has a shot at landing all of them. In addition to these six players, Illinois is also after some other top recruits like Verdis Brown and Houston Griffith. These players are both from the state of Illinois but have moved down to Florida to get better training.

Next: 5 recruits who have the Illini on top list

So, despite the Illini having one of the worst recruiting classes in the Big Ten right now, the future can still be extremely bright. There are plenty of players available and Lovie has the tools to land some big fish.